


Uncle Jamie's Babysitting Misadventures

by Judy_The_Dreamer



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Babysitting, Empath!Darcy, Gen, Ice Cream, Kid Fic, Mutant!Darcy, Parent Tony Stark, Stark Family, Uncle Jamie, cuteness, losing milk teeth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2020-03-07 22:55:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18882907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Judy_The_Dreamer/pseuds/Judy_The_Dreamer
Summary: Short and fluffy drabbles chronicling James Barnes's babysitting adventures.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write some fluff to escape from the dark part of the AU I'm currently writing. By the pace I'm going, I might not reach the cute stuff for another year, so I wanted to enjoy it while it lasts.

Sometimes James wondered why Tony trusted him with his personal shit. If anything, it proved that the man didn't have a sane hair on his head. What else could have driven him to assign a trained assassin to babysit his daughter? Did he want to scar her for life? Because Darcy was a sweet girl, really, and didn't need to be disciplined that often.

Possibly sensing that his thoughts had drifted to her (bloody, empaths), Darcy looked up from her strawberry cupcake and shot James her most brilliant grin. There was a dollop of frosting stuck to the tip of her nose which he wiped away with a laugh.

"Having fun yet, pipsqueak?"

She nodded enthusiastically and offered him a big crumb to share. Even after years of living with her talkative adoptive father, Darcy still felt the most comfortable communicating through touch and so he was prepared for the bright flash of gratitude that sprung from her fingertips to his with a crackle of lightning.

_ Yum! _

He popped the crumb into his mouth, chewing exaggeratedly to make her giggle. "Yeah, kid, tastes awesome."

********

One of Darcy’s teeth was loose. Her entire face was scrunched up in concentration as she wriggled it around with her tongue.  _ Adorable. _

“What'cha doing there, pipsqueak?” James asked as he plopped down next to her on the couch, making the little girl bounce up from the cushions by the force of it. She flung herself onto his lap with a delighted shriek, tooth completely forgotten for the moment.

“Again, again!” she begged him, her grey eyes big like saucers. Back in the day, she could have given Steve a run for his money, James thought affectionately. She had that same type of cute but obstinate energy. Still, Tony probably wouldn’t appreciate him ruining his favourite couch in order to please Darcy’s whims. 

So, he resorted to the most effective weapon in his arsenal to distract little girls: a flurry of tickles. 

Darcy squirmed in his lap as his fingers danced across her sensitive sides, flailing her short arms and legs around as she struggled to escape the unexpected assault, all the while laughing unstoppably. “Uncle Jamie, no!”

Grinning, Bucky reached over to tickle the bottom of her feet as well to give her a rest, but Darcy was quick to clamp onto his metal arm, trying to stifle the sound of her laughter against the metal. 

Suddenly, her laughter broke off with a pained wail and James froze in horror. A thousand scenarios fired off inside his head as he carefully dislodged the teary-eyed girl from his arm. “What is it, Darce?” He examined her arms and face closely, but couldn’t see any imprints where his plates had pinched her skin. 

“Auuwie.” She gestured towards her mouth, opening it to show him the empty spot her upper row of teeth now sported. And sure, when he looked down at his arm, there was a tiny, white tooth lodged between two plates. 

“Well,” he said, stunned as his young charge worked through the last of her sniffles, shock now passed.  “That beats using the old door trick.”


	2. Ice Cream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uncle Bucky receives a special request.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this AU, Darcy and Peter are Tony's biological children.
> 
> Written for the Bucky Barnes Bingo 2019 - Square Y3: Request/Demand

‘I want ice cream!’

Bucky groaned as two pairs of pleading eyes turned their full devastating power onto him. Darcy had plastered a giant pout on her face, waggling her lower lip in a mockery of an oncoming temper tantrum, while Peter’s eyes started to fill with tears. It was difficult to tell if either was going to actually push through a good cry, but Bucky had been acquainted long enough with the man who’d provided half of their DNA to know that he shouldn’t underestimate a Stark’s proclivity towards dramatics.

‘Fine,’ he sighed, opening the fridge door wider, so he could properly unlatch the freezer compartment at the top. Goosebumps rose up along his arm as the cold air brushed past his bare skin. Instinctively, he tensed up, expecting it to engulf his entire body in a matter of seconds, but the ice remained immobile, safe. Cryo wasn’t a thing anymore, he reminded himself firmly. Don’t show the kids your discomfort or it’ll ruin the ice cream.

Bucky cleared his throat gruffly, ‘What flavor do you want?’

‘Banana!’

‘Pistachio!’

The Starks shouted at the same time, matching grins in place.

Couldn’t they just pick a normal kids flavour, Bucky thought, exasperated. He was pretty sure that his freezer contained neither of those flavours. Hoping to postpone the inevitable outrage, he took his rummaging through the neatly stacked plastic boxes and hummed in concentration.

‘Nope. Haven’t got those. What about vanilla?’

When he looked over his shoulder, the grins had melted right off their faces.

‘Boo,’ Darcy said, her nose scrunching up in distaste.

Peter dropped his head on the table with a moan.

Pretending to think very deeply, Bucky tapped his chin a metal finger. ‘In that case,’ he concluded. ‘There won’t be any ice cream at all.’

‘Noooo!’ The Starks chorused, pleading eyes and pouty lips returning in a blink of an eye.

Fighting down a smirk, Bucky picked out the cream-coloured box and put it on the kitchen isle to defrost.

‘Vanilla it is, then,’ he said cheerily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you made it this far, please consider leaving a comment or kudos.


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